First Zone
by Stolyint
Summary: A look into Eiichiro's past and moments. Also some fluff moments between Eiichiro/Natsu in their usual day.


**Dear readers. This is my first fanfiction story, so please take it easy on me with the comments. Any recommendations would be appreciated and watch out for spoilers. Disclaimer: I do** _ **not**_ **own Baby Steps or its characters! Now onward to the story.**

 **First Zone**

"Thwack," "Whoosh," "Game and set" said Natsu-chan. A beautiful blond haired woman with hazel eyes and tanned skin, from spending too much time under the sun. "7-6, a close match . . . you win this time Nat-chan" an out of breath Maruo-kun responded. Brown hair in his usual style and a wide smile spread across his face. "You have gotten better Nat-chan and you tennis style is getting harder to predict" continued Maruo-kun. "Well I have a great partner to practice with," responded Natsu-chan with her usual happiness.

 **Maruo's POV**

I stood straighter from my hunched position and evened out my breathing. Staring straight into her hazel eyes and beauty, an unwilling blush appeared, despite the years we have been together. At the age of 36, I was living a dream that seemed almost impossible in my high school life. I succeeded in becoming a professional tennis player after winning the All-Japan Championship and completing my parent's second deal. Also married Nat-chan, the love of my life, pillar support, and source of determination, at the age of 24. As well as

"clap" "clap" "clap."

Disturbing my train of thought and getting off the adrenaline, I looked to my left and was filled with pride and happiness upon seeing my 8 year old son Raijou. He was a splitting image of Nat-chan and me, with dirty blonde hair and my light brown eyes that filled with determination and happiness when playing tennis. Next to him was Ike's 8 year old daughter Sumi, who was a near exact copy of her father. Nat-chan and I were taking care of her while Ike was at a tournament. They were smiling and clapping after watching us play, and I could tell that they wanted to play as well.

But they knew that it was time for dinner, "Ei-chan," turning to see Nat-chan who called me, "I am going to freshen up for dinner meanwhile may you start on dinner?" "Sure Nat-chan," I responded. Getting close to me, Nat-chan gave me a kiss on the cheek and said, "Thanks." Afterward she walked inside our home.

Turning back again to Raijou and Sumi, I told them to go inside and wash their hands for dinner. They nodded and ran inside, leaving me outside and alone. Going around to pick up the equipment, I thought about my home. It was perfect for Nat-chan and me, since both of us are tennis players. Our home has a tennis court for a backyard and the house is two stories with four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, and a living room. Finishing with the equipment, I went inside and into the kitchen.

There I started a simple dinner, just as rushed footsteps went down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Tuo-san, when is dinner?" asked Raijou.

"In about 20 minutes, in the meantime why don't you watch some tennis on the TV, I believe Takuma-san is playing," I responded.

"Really" said Sumi excitedly, "Come on Raijou."

She grabbed his hand and dragged him into the living room to watch the match. Talking about Takuma-san reminded me of all the times we played each other. It has been a while since our last match, maybe I could ask him to play again one of these days.

All of the sudden I felt a pair of arms hug me from behind and felt a head leaning over my shoulder. Nat-chan's scent surrounded me as she rested behind me.

"Where are the children?" asked Nat-chan.

"Watching TV," I responded. "Dinner will be done in a few."

"Alright, I'll go get Raijou and Sumi," she responded.

Leaving to the living room, I heard shouts of excitement. Something good must have happened. I heard excited voices reach the kitchen just as I finished setting the table.

"Ei-kyoufu, Taku-nii won the match with his service ace. It is so cool and fast, one day I am going to have a serve like his," said Sumi as she came into the kitchen with Raijou and Nat-chan behind her.

"I agree with you Sumi-chan, Takuma-san's serve is still the one of the best as it was when I was younger." I responded to her enthusiasm.

"You have played with Taku-nii?" She asked.

"More times than you can count."

"Really, what is your favorite match, tou-san?" Asked my son.

"When I finally won against him in the All Japan Championship."

"Awesome," both of them said at the same time.

"What other matches have you had?" asked Sumi.

"As much as I enjoy hearing your stories Ei-chan, I'm starving." Interrupted Nat-chan.

"Alright Nat-chan, I'll tell you two some of my matches after dinner."

"You promise," said Sumi.

"Of course, but for now let's eat, I am also hungry."

"Thank you for the food," we all said. Afterwards we started eating while Raijou and Sumi talked about their day. Once dinner was done, both kids started dragging me to the living room. "Come on tuo-san, tell us about your matches" said my son excitedly. I turned back to look at Nat-chan picking up the dishes. "Do not worry Ei-chan, I can handle the dishes, so go entertain the kids." She said, as she noticed my staring. "Alright Nat-chan," I responded.

Being dragged to the living room, I was pushed onto the couch. As I was gathering my bearings, both kids jumped onto one side of me each. "Alright you two, what type of match would you like to hear?" I asked the two. "The one against Taku-nii," said Sumi.

"Against Takuma-san, I have had many matches against him, before I finally won in the All Japan Championship." I told them.

"Was it a good match," asked Raijou.

"Yes, it was amazing since I won against one of the people I strived to pass. Though it was not easy and it took a while to beat him."

"Why?"

"Well, it took everything I had in order to beat him, and going into the zone was a huge help"

"What's the zone?" asked Sumi.

"The zone is different per person, but it is a state where a player is able to put 100% of their ability into the game," I explained to the both of them.

"Cool, so it's like … like you are unbeatable while using it," responded Sumi enthusiastically.

"Not exactly," intervened Nat-chan. "When Ei-chan played against Nabae-kun once, he still lost despite being in the zone."

"So it's not an invincible move," asked Raijou.

"No, it's not, while it lets me use all of my abilities 100%, it is also a weakness," I told them.

"Also the zone is less accessible by instinctual players, like myself." Said Nat-chan as she sat next to Raijou.

"So, you can't access it kaa-chan"

"Nope" was the quick response.

"The zone tends to show your habits more, therefore a player like me will figure out how to defeat them much easier." I added to the conversation.

"Is that how Nabae-san beat you?" asked Sumi.

"Yes, and at the time he was superior to me, actually he was at a professional level during junior competitions. Especially since he beat Takuma-san."

"Wow, so he was really strong," said Raijou tiredly.

I picked up on that and looked at Sumi. She also looked a bit tired. Once I took that into account, I knew that they were about to fall asleep. I made eye contact with Nat-chan, and we both knew that they needed one final push to go to sleep.

"Would you two like to hear how I won against a professional within two years of playing tennis," I asked the two dozing children.

"Really, you beat a professional that early," said Sumi. I nodded my head. "Alright" she responded while making herself comfortable on my side and laying her head on my arm. At the same time, Raijou got comfortable laying back against Nat-chan.

"Well it was my second year of tennis, and I had recently decided to go pro. Therefore I went to a Florida sport center for tennis during my school's winter break. There I met Alex-san. He was a recently turned pro with a win-loss record. I played twice against him, the first time I lost horribly, the second time was a very close win. At first I had to adapt to America's way of tennis and make it my own. Then get rid of my losing streak …"

"You had a losing streak" interrupted Raijou, who looked half asleep.

"Yes, and I'll tell you about it another day, if not I won't be able to finish my story before you fall asleep."

"Alright"

"Now where was I," "after the streak" said Nat-chan, who was starting to look tired as well. Deciding to skip minor details, I continued.

"Alright, after fixing my losing streak, I had one final match with Alex-san before coming back home. In that one match I analyzed all the data I gathered and countered him at almost every corner. Until it was impossible to predict and I moved based on what was in front of me. At that moment my instincts and reasoning were working at the same time. Months later I would realize that I entered the zone momentarily. Either way, we went all the way to a deuce and I believe I won due to luck. Seeing as I got a leg cramp in the final moments of the game and Alex-san overshot a lob, making it go out of bounds. Therefore giving me the win." I finished recalling one of my best matches.

Looking down, I saw Sumi was fast asleep along with Raijou and Nat-chan who had also dozed off. Smiling to myself at the feeling of being surrounded by family, I got up and carried both children to their rooms. I first put Raijou in his room and kissed his forehead and said quietly "goodnight." He smiled in response in his sleep.

I continued on my way to the guest room that Sumi was currently using, there I laid her down and did the same as I did to Raijou. She smiled and responded "that was a good story" so quietly I almost missed it. In return, I told her "I'll tell you more tomorrow before Ike-kun picks you up, okay."

"Kay," she barely responded.

I walked out quietly and back to the living room to get Nat-chan. While walking, I saw that the clock read eleven. It was quite late actually. Going to Nat-chan, I picked her up and took her to our room. Putting her in our bed, I went and took a quick shower since I didn't wash off after our match today. Finishing up, I went back to our room and noticed that Nat-chan was awake now and waiting for me. Getting into bed with her, I hugged her and whispered "goodnight," as the exhaustion of today finally caught up and I started falling asleep. But before the darkness took over, I heard Nat-chan say "goodnight" and felt her give me a kiss on the cheek. Afterward she snuggled into my arms, just as sleep took me.


End file.
